Obituary of Albert L. Rasmussen

Albert LeRoy (Roy) Rasmussen 1933-2022 Albert Leroy (Roy) Rasmussen, 88, passed away March, 21, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. He was born May 27, 1933, in Eugene, Oregon to Albert Lyle and Eugenia Mae Foster Rasmussen. From the very beginning, his life was full of adventure. After his mother passed away when he was three weeks old, Roy was raised by his grandparents, Niels and Wilmetta Rasmussen in Elgin, Oregon, where they showered him with love and watched him grow. At age three he was reciting poems and readings and singing songs for people as far away as La Grande, Oregon. At four and a half, he began taking violin lessons—his violin was permanently stained with tear streaks on the back. His violin teacher soon discovered he had perfect pitch. Music was something he enjoyed throughout his life, playing not only the violin but the organ, piano, and accordion. He participated in barbershop and ward choirs and could sit down and plunk out anything he heard within minutes. Roy worked at the local theater and sawmill in Elgin to get enough money to go to college. He attended BYU in Provo, Utah, where he met the love of his life, Shirley Eleanor Lendt from Buffalo, New York. They were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple on May 28, 1953. Their life together found them raising four kids and living in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Utah, California, Washington State, and Oregon. He started out at Becco Chemical, washing out chemical tanker cars. He then became a bookkeeper at Scott Aviation. Sometime around 1960, Roy started his life-long career with the Boy Scouts of America, and his summers were spent running scout camps where he was well-known for the song Zazoo. Roy served in many different callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the organist in almost every ward he lived in. He also served as a temple worker in the ____ Temple. After his retirement, Roy stayed busy working at a funeral home in Olympia, Washington, often being the pianist, and as a bailiff at the county courthouse. His children recall he was always reading, reading, and more reading. He would read through his kids’ baseball games, basketball games, swim meets, and even as the rest of the family set up camp on vacations. When he wasn’t reading, he was trying to sneak a nap. He would often ask somebody to grab his pillow and comforter for him so he could get a little shuteye. Roy and Shirley gardened together. She loved the Johnny jump-ups, but Roy didn’t. He would pull them up, and she would replant them. He loved to go on walks wherever he was: home, traveling for work, or on vacation. He often invited a grandchild or two along if they were visiting him, and he would speed walk up the hills while they ran to catch up. Roy never met a stranger that didn’t become a friend. He loved to talk to people everywhere he went. He loved to whistle and would do it all the time. Roy enjoyed traveling and generously gifted each of his kids and their spouse a trip to Hawaii after his retirement. He also enjoyed taking his grandkids on short trips to show them things he loved and ignite their sense of adventure. Shirley passed away in 2006 after 53 years of marriage. Roy married Jean Johnson in 2008. They enjoyed traveling together and were living in Oregon at the time of his passing. Roy is survived by his current wife Jean, three children from his marriage with Shirley, Mark (Amanda), Welda (Chuck), and Scott (Sonya), sixteen grandchildren and their spouses, and seventeen great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his son Craig who passed away in 1978, and his dear wife, Shirley. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Fund Foundation of America. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/99652959251?pwd=YkcyTzhsOXZXdVVVN2xyVHVNYkZKdz09